Winter Wonderland
by JenRar
Summary: Ranger, Stephanie, and the guys take advantage of the snow then celebrate Christmas as an extended family. Lemony & romantic goodness! Now edited & re-posted.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: JE owns them. I do not._

~oooOOOooo~

**Winter Wonderland**

~oOo~

**Chapter 1  
Ranger's POV**

I was going through paperwork at my desk when Steph came waltzing in, all bundled up in a heavy coat, fuzzy hat, scarf, and gloves. Her eyes, nose, and mouth were the only visible skin on her entire body.

"Babe?"

"Carlos, can you take a break? It snowed a bunch earlier, so everything is covered in beautiful, clean white snow. It looks perfect out there! I want to go walking in a winter wonderland, which is what it looks like right now."

How in the world was I supposed to say no to my little Eskimo?

Putting my papers aside, I grabbed my gloves from the desk and stood. "Sure, Babe. Let me get my stuff on and then we can go."

I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her now much thicker waist.

"Carlos, I'm so big that you can barely hold me now," she whined.

"Babe, you're four months pregnant with our three girls. Of course you're going to be bigger than you normally are. You are _far_ from being too big, though. You're still absolutely stunning."

I grabbed my coat and slid my arms into the sleeves before pulling on my hat and scarf. Then I took her arm and we walked out of my office together.

"Maybe if we're careful," I whispered into her ear, "we can escape without the boys seeing us."

We'd just made it to the elevator and the doors were closing when a hand and arm shot through the opening.

"Heyyy, Boss! Beautiful! Babies! You weren't going to leave without us, were you?" Lester poked his head in when the doors reopened. He sauntered in, bundled up in his own winter gear and followed by Tank and Bobby in same. "Time to play!"

I felt Steph squeeze my arm gently when I growled, "Tank, aren't you in charge right now?"

He laughed. "Hal is covering until I get back. He owes me a couple of hours since I covered for him last week when he wanted an extra long lunch to visit his girl."

"So much for our peaceful walk," Steph said quietly, looking ahead and sighing.

I didn't think she'd meant to say it out loud, and thankfully, the guys were joking around loudly enough that they didn't hear her. She would have been embarassed if she knew she'd said it aloud and would have been mortified if they'd heard. My Babe loved the guys, but her hormones were way out of whack because of the pregnancy.

We reached the garage level and stepped out of the elevator. I opened the gate, and the guys raced ahead onto the sidewalk in front of RangeMan. I put my arm around Steph, and we carefully stepped out into the snow.

"Holy Hostess, it's cold out here!" Steph gasped as the cold air hit her face.

We walked for a few blocks before turning back. The guys were still ahead of us, scooping up balls of snow and tossing them not only at each other, but into the air to see who could throw the highest, and just generally goofing off.

Tank jogged back to us. "Mind if I walk with Bomber for a bit?" he asked.

I looked at Steph and she nodded.

"Go ahead. I'll be fine with Tank," she said, smiling.

I leaned down and brushed my lips lightly across hers, bumped fists with Tank, and then turned and quietly jogged up to Santos and Brown. Before they could turn around and see me, I leaned down, grabbed two fistfulls of snow, and jammed them down the backs of their coats.

~oooOOOooo~

**Stephanie's POV**

I laughed when I saw Les and Bobby jump high into the air. Ranger had surprised them, and you could almost see the determination in both their faces to get him back. I held onto Tank's arm as we walked, both of us making sure I wasn't going to fall on the slick sidewalk.

"Thank you for walking with me so Ranger could have a bit of fun up there," I said to him. "You guys don't get nearly enough time to relax—Ranger included."

"It's my pleasure, Steph. I wanted to talk to you for a minute anyway, so this works out well for all of us." Tank's face and tone turned serious. "I have a question for you."

"What's wrong, big guy?" I used my other hand to pat his arm, trying to soothe whatever was causing him concern.

"Nothing's wrong, really. I just wondered..." His voice trailed off, as if he was trying to think of how he wanted to say something. "One of the gifts I'm planning on giving Lula for Christmas is an engagement ring. I'm going to ask her to marry me. First, do you think she'll say yes? I'm scared she'll realize she doesn't want to put up with my lifestyle permanently and say no."

I couldn't help but laugh at the idea, and he looked at me with alarm.

"Tank, if you knew how much in love with you Lula is, you would know not to even _think_ that way. She would follow you to the ends of the earth if it meant she could spend the rest of her life with you. I see her glance at the jewelry display every time we go to the mall, and I know she's looking at the engagement and wedding rings."

"You really think so?" He let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, my second question is... Would you be willing to go with me and help pick out a ring? You know her as well as I do, and I want to find the perfect one for my girl."

"I'd be honored," I said, smiling up at him.

Neither of us noticed the boys were waiting for us as we walked up close to the garage gate.

Ranger walked over to me and took my hand. "Thanks, guys. That was fun. We'll be inside in a minute," he said to them.

We watched as they opened the gate and headed inside.

The minute they turned the corner, Ranger had me pressed up against the side of the building, carefully shielding me from the camera and any traffic that might drive by. His lips came down on mine, one hand caressing my face and the other carefully rubbing my growing belly.

When he finally pulled back a bit so we could take a breath, he said, "You look so gorgeous, Babe. The cold's turned your cheeks a beautiful pink, and your eyes are sparkling. I want you so much that if I could, I'd take you right here, right now."

"What are you waiting for, Batman?" I asked. "Take me to seven now and make me fly!" I teased.

I laughed as he grabbed my hand and carefully, but quickly led me to the gate and inside, kissing me as he backed me into the elevator to head up to seven.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer still applies. Warning for lemony goodness._

~oooOOOooo~

**Chapter 2  
Stephanie's POV**

We got off the elevator outside the apartment, and Ranger's hands barely even moved off my body to click the button and unlock the apartment door. He whisked me inside, closing the door with his foot. His lips were on mine again as soon as we had our winter gear off. Without even bothering to hang the stuff up, he pulled me up into his arms and began carrying me toward the bedroom.

Just before entering the room, I said, "Stop!"

Ranger froze, looking worried.

Pointing up, I said, "Carlos, I think that's mistletoe you're standing under."

I grinned as his arms tightened around me and then his lips descended on mine. He kissed me hungrily, drawing me in until I wasn't sure where he ended and I began. Finally, he growled, took the last few steps into the bedroom, and made his way to the bed.

He laid me carefully down on the mattress and immediately dropped down beside me, his lips once again finding mine. I moaned into his mouth when his hands began wondering down my cheek to my shoulders, making their way to my chest. He cupped my breasts through my sweatshirt, his thumbs brushing against my nipples. They were already hard from the cold air outside and my arousal. Ranger's touch only tightened them further, causing me to moan again.

Sitting up, he pulled me up with him. He moved his lips from mine only long enough to pull my sweatshirt up over my head and reach around to unclasp my bra. After quickly pulling it down my arms and tossing it to the floor with my shirt, he lowered me back down gently. Our tongues danced together, sliding and stroking one another as our lips and teeth clashed.

He tore his mouth from mine and began kissing his way down my neck, nipping at the skin and making small red marks with his teeth before he finally reached his ultimate destination. My breasts, sensitive from the pregnancy, ached under his touch. He cupped them in his palms, his fingers brushing my nipples and torturing them into pointy nubs. He moved one hand, replacing it with his lips. As he suckled at my breast, his lips, teeth, and tongue worked together to bring me right to the edge of an orgasm before he backed off, moving to the other side to taste and tease.

He gave my nipple a last gentle nibble and then continued to move down my body. His lips caressed the growing swell of my belly, whispering, "_Te amo,_" to the babies before dipping his tongue in my navel and swirling it around. He nibbled gently on the edge before moving farther down.

Ranger parted my legs, slid between them, and then used his fingers to part my lips. He let out a low growl as he took in the site of me—naked, breasts heaving with my labored breathing, legs spread wide, and pussy open for his eyes only. When he looked up into my eyes, his grew dark with lust, and he licked his lips once before ducking his head as he continued to watch me. His tongue came out and licked in one long stroke from the bottom to the very top of my slit, circling around my clit without touching it.

When he sucked in one of my lips and swirled his tongue over it, my arousal caused a gush of wetness, and he let my lip go so he could lap up every drop of my juices with his tongue. Long, flat strokes of his tongue had me panting and moaning, fists clenched in the sheets.

As soon as he had licked up every drop that he could, he ever-so-slowly slid one of his long, thick fingers deep into my pussy. His tongue moved up to circle my clit again, and when he added a second finger, he finally answered my throbbing need by running his tongue over it. My hips jerked off the bed, needing as much contact with his mouth and fingers as I could possibly get.

Before long, he added a third finger, and when he bit down gently on my clit, I arched my back and cried out his name as I came. He continued thrusting his fingers in and out of me, his tongue gently stroking my clit. When I began to come down from the orgasm, he removed his fingers and sucked them into his mouth, cleaning them off completely before his tongue found my soaking pussy. He drank from me, sucking up every bit of evidence of my arousal until I was panting with need again.

His voice was husky as he spoke softly to me in Spanish, and even though I only understood a few of the words, the meaning was clear.

He moved up to me, and when we were face to face, he kissed me softly, brushing his lips across mine and letting me taste the juices left on his lips from my pussy.

I whimpered and whispered to him, "I need you inside me, Carlos. Please, make love to me."

He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath before turning onto his back and carefully pulling me with him to sit on his lower stomach.

As soon as I felt settled, my hands roamed down his body, from his cheeks to his shoulders and then down to his chest. As my fingers found his nipples and flicked them, making them as hard as he'd made mine, I lifted up my hips and scooted back several inches. He used his hand to guide his cock as I lowered myself slowly onto him.

As I sank down, I allowed myself a second to think about all the times Ranger and I had made love. Since my belly had begun to grow larger with the pregnancy, this was the only position Ranger felt completely comfortable with. I certainly wasn't complaining, as I felt powerful hovering over him like I was.

As soon as he was completely sheathed inside me, I moaned loudly, my pussy already clenching around him. I felt his hands on my hips and began to ride him, moving up and down on his shaft. His hands guided my hips to move forward and back, side to side, and in slow, sensual circles. I leaned back slightly and felt his legs come up and bend at the knees so I could rest back against his slightly spread thighs.

When one of his hands moved from my hip to my pussy and slowly began stroking my clit, I moved one of my hands back and down to gently fondle his balls, skimming my fingers lightly over the sac. We moaned at the same time, tremors beginning to wrack our bodies.

My orgasm was building quickly, and I could feel my lower belly beginning to tighten. I quickened my thrusts and massaged Ranger's balls, tugging and stroking. He groaned loudly, and when I felt his balls beginning to tighten up, I knew he was getting close. He pinched my clit lightly, once, twice, and again a third time before flicking it and scraping his fingernail across it.

When he moved back and pinched it harder, something inside me shattered and I came hard. The force of my orgasm squeezed his cock so hard that he nearly shot off the bed, taking me with him. When I squeezed my pussy around him again deliberately, he moved his hand back to my hip and held me tightly against him, grinding his hips up into mine. I felt him spill himself inside me as he cursed, throwing his head back into the pillow.

Several minutes later, I collapsed bonelessly beside him on the bed. He turned onto his side, pulling me tightly against him. Not long after, sleep claimed me.

The last thing I heard was Ranger whispering, "Goodnight, Babe. I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer still applies._

~oooOOOooo~

**Chapter 3  
Stephanie's POV  
****Four Days Later (A Week Before Christmas)**

Today was the day Tank and I were going shopping for Lula's engagement ring, and I had yet to figure out her ring size. I had a grand plan, though, so when I walked into the bonds office, I was carrying an arsenal of nail products with me.

"Okay, ladies... First donuts and then nails! If we do them now, they should only need a touchup right before Christmas Eve, right? I brought all my nail stuff."

Connie and Lula grinned. "Get your pregnant white ass over here, Steph." Lula held up her hands, fingernails out. "I've needed these babies done for weeks, and Connie's been busy!"

Connie nodded. "Thanks for bringing the stuff. I'm running low on most everything I keep here."

"No problem," I replied. "Does RangeMan have any files, Con?"

She handed me one folder. "Just one, but he isn't due until after Christmas, so they have plenty of time."

"Cool." I grabbed a donut and headed to the couch. "You guys'll have to help pull me off here when I'm done, you know," I complained. "I can't manage to get up by myself anymore."

"Steph, you're so gorgeous pregnant," Connie complained. "I know if I ever have kids, I'm going to look like a cow. You have _three_ in there and still look amazing. How do you do it?"

I started to blush and Lula laughed loudly. "It's all that hot sex with Batman. Damn, girl, you must still be doing it at least at couple times a week, right?"

I blushed an even brighter red. "Onceaday," I mumbled. "Sometimestwice."

Two sets of eyes bugged out.

"What'd you say?" Lula gasped.

Connie just sat there with her mouth open, looking like a fish.

"At least once a day, sometimes twice," I said quietly, just as the man in question walked into the office.

"Babe," he said, grinning at the ladies and smiling softly down at me. "Sharing secrets?"

"Uh, no, uh, just telling them how often the babies, uh, change position," I said weakly.

They all three laughed hard, knowing I was lying. Thankfully, no one called me out on it. Ranger gave me a long, soft kiss before heading into Vinnie's office and quietly shutting the door.

As soon as the door closed, Connie and Lula turned their heads back to me and resumed the deer in the headlights and open-mouthed fish expressions.

"What?" I asked. I knew I was still blushing.

"Damn, Steph. You are one lucky woman," Connie said.

With that statement, my blush went away and pride entered my heart.

"I know. The luckiest," I said as I smiled at them. "Okay, who's ready for a mani?"

Lula held up her hand and stood, coming over to pick out her nail color and pick up all the stuff Connie needed to do the job.

"Fire-engine red, I think," she said, picking up one of my favorites. "That's Chrismassy, isn't it?"

We nodded and she walked over to the desk, happy with her selection. We sat there chatting as Connie pulled off her rings and began her manicure with a lotioned massage.

When Ranger came out of Vinnie's office, he helped me to my feet. "Come outside with me for a minute, Babe?"

I grinned and held up a finger, telling him to give me a minute. He looked at me curiously but nodded.

I made my way over to Connie's desk and said, "Hey, I'm going to borrow a pencil and some paper. I need to write something down for Ranger to take to Ella for me."

Using that excuse, I grabbed the paper and pencil and—without her noticing—slipped the ring Lula always wore on her ring finger into my pocket. "Be back in a minute," I said, grinning and wiggling my eyebrows.

After putting my coat on, I followed Ranger outside with a chorus of "You go girl!" and "Woohoo!" from the girls.

Because of the temperature outside, we didn't bother heading for the alley. Instead, Ranger pulled open the door to the Cayenne and helped me into the passenger seat before making his way around to the driver's side. He pushed his seat all the way back so there was room for "Whale Steph," as I'd begun to call myself recently. He pulled me carefully onto his lap so I was facing sideways, my back to his door.

We spent over five minutes with our lips together. We'd seen each other just a couple of hours before, but as it always was with us, we couldn't keep our hands—or mouths—to ourselves.

Finally, I said, "I need to get back in there so I can return Lula's ring before she notices it's gone."

Ranger raised one eyebrow and asked, "Why did you need her ring?"

"Tank needs her ring size so we can go buy her an engagement ring this afternoon," I explained.

I'd told Ranger a few days ago about Tank's Christmas surprise for Lula, so he simply nodded in understanding. I pulled the FTA's file over and laid the paper on top of it. Ranger put his hand under to give it some stability, and then I put the ring down and traced right inside the circle.

"There! Now we'll take the paper to the jeweler, and he can lay the ring sizer against the paper to give us the correct size," I explained.

"Very smart, Babe," Ranger said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not sure how I'd have handled that. Probably just taken the ring with me and let Lula be afraid she'd lost it."

"Aww, but that isn't nice. As long as I get it back on the desk, she'll never know anything's going on."

"Okay, then, let's get you inside," he said, giving me a last quick kiss on the lips.

I tore off the corner of the paper I'd used and stuck it in my pocket, and then he moved me carefully back to my seat. He got out of the SUV and came around to the passenger side to open my door. After helping me out of the vehicle, he held me close and guided me inside the office so I wouldn't fall.

"Call me later if you need me, Babe. I'll be in the office until after lunch. Want to meet at Shorty's for lunch at noon?" I nodded, so he gave me another kiss and said, "Bye, ladies. Have a nice a day," before turning and heading back outside.

I walked over to Connie's desk to give her back her pencil and slid the ring onto the desk without either of them noticing.

_Whew__!_

Two hours later, all three of us had perfectly done nails and were feeling extremely relaxed and happy. It was nearly time to meet Ranger for lunch, so I started packing up all the nail stuff.

Suddenly, the "Batman" theme song rang out from my pocket. I pulled out my cell and said, "Yo."

"Babe, you stole my line," Ranger said, chuckling.

"What's up, Batman?" I asked. "Not going to stand me up for lunch, are you?"

"No. It's started drizzling and the roads are getting kind of iffy. I'd feel better if you let me pick you up for lunch. Then I can drop you back off at RangeMan afterwards. Santos is going to come with me and will drive your car back so it isn't left there. Is that okay with you?"

I grinned. Up until a year ago, he would have told me that's what he was going to do. Now he was asking if it was okay with me? Definite progress.

"That sounds fine, honey," I said in a playful voice. "Thank you."

"See you in ten," he said, hanging up.

I sighed. So not _everything_ was progressing. We still had to work on phone manners.

I laughed and turned back to the girls. "Ranger said the roads are getting kind of nasty. You guys might wanna head home soon," I told them.

Connie buzzed Vinnie's office and said, "I'm leaving. Ranger said the roads are getting bad, and I hate driving on ice. I'll put up the notice on the door."

He muttered something about losing money, but Connie just rolled her eyes and shut off the phone.

As soon as we saw the Cayenne pull up outside, all three of us stood. We were shocked when not only Ranger walked in, but he was followed by Les and Tank.

Lula squealed and ran over to her man. "Baby! I didn't know you were coming!"

He picked her up and twirled her around once. "I didn't want you driving on the roads, either, so I'll drive you home and leave your car. Lester will follow us and take me back to work with him. Connie, you're more than welcome to leave your car here and we can drop you off. Then someone can either pick you up tomorrow, or we can swing back by on our way back to work and bring it to you before we go."

She blinked. That was probably the most she'd ever heard Tank say at one time. "Uh, yeah, that would be good. Thanks," she told him. She pulled off a car key and handed it to Tank. "So I don't forget later."

The six of us hustled out to the cars and loaded into the Cayenne, Lula's Firebird, and my Spider. I loved that car. I'd bought it with money I'd saved from my FTAs before getting pregnant, and I simply adored it. I waved to the others and told Les and Tank I'd see them back at work after lunch, and then Ranger and I headed to Shorty's.

_Yummy, pizza__!_

An hour later, Ranger pulled into the garage at RangeMan. After helping me out, we walked arm in arm to the elevator. Once inside, he pulled me to him, my back pressed tightly to his chest and his arms wrapped around my growing waist. When we hit five, he gave me a long kiss before sending me to Tank's office and heading into his own.

"Tank," I said as I walked in through the open door. "Ready to go?"

He looked almost green, which I wouldn't have thought possible, given his dark coloring. "I guess," he said.

"Come on, big guy," I said, laughing. "It'll be fine, I promise. I got her ring traced, so we have her ring size. You'll find the perfect one for her and she'll love it. Don't worry!"

He looked skeptical for a second, but then he nodded and pushed himself to his feet. "Thanks, Steph. My stomach's been in knots for weeks. I can face down guys with guns pointed at my head and never feel an ounce of nerves, but this has me going in a million different directions at once."

We continued talking about his plans until we reached the store where Tank wanted to shop. He helped me carefully inside, and I walked directly over to the engagement and wedding ring section.

Moments later, the manager was standing in front of us, asking, "How may I help you?" He sounded and looked very nervous as he looked Tank up and down.

"We're from RangeMan," I said, smiling sweetly.

I knew we provided the security for the store. As soon as I said that, his eyes glanced at the tag on Tank's shirt and relaxed immediately. I really wanted to roll my eyes, but I refrained, figuring that wasn't good for RangeMan or for Tank's chances on finding a good ring.

"My friend here is planning on proposing to his girlfriend at Christmas, so we'd like to look at engagement rings."

The man showed us a handful of rings before Tank and I both gasped. Without saying a word, we both pointed to a ring in the upper right corner of the case he'd pulled out last.

"Excellent choice," he said. "This is fourteen carat white gold and is a total of two and a half carats of diamonds." He explained all about the cut and color of the diamonds as we listened and stared at the ring. The center, Princess cut was largest, at just over a carat. The ten diamonds on the side were Baguettes and just under half a carat, while the twenty-eight small round ones on the sides totaled up to just over a carat. "It's a beautiful ring, and you get the RangeMan discount of twenty percent off the marked price." He pointed to the tag.

I pulled the paper out of my pocket and smoothed it out. "I traced the ring she wears on that finger so we could size it."

"Excellent," the man said, pulling out a ring of sizers. "Let's see here. She wears a size ten. I think I have this ring in that size, so give me a moment to look."

He ducked down behind the counter and then, several minutes later, stood up with a grin on his face and a jewelry box in his hand. "Here it is."

He opened the box, pulled the ring out, and then took the paper and laid the ring over the drawn circle. Thankfully, it was a perfect match.

"This is great!" I told Tank. "She's going to love it."

He took the ring, put it into the box with one hand, and pulled me to his side with his other arm. "Thanks, Bomber. I appreciate your help like you wouldn't believe."

"You could have done it on your own, Tank, but I'm glad I could help," I said, smiling at him.

We rode back to RangeMan, and when we pulled into the garage, I told him, "You know, Lula and the guys are going to notice something's up if you can't wipe that grin off your face."

He laughed. "I know. I can't help it!"

I laughed with him and we rode the elevator up to five, chuckling the entire way.

~oooOOOooo~

**Tank's POV  
****Christmas Day**

I picked Lula up early on Christmas morning. "Morning, sweetheart," I told her, pulling her into my arms after I walked into her apartment. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, baby!" she said after kissing me passionately. "I'm ready to head to the Bat Cave if you are." She grabbed a big bag full of wrapped gifts and handed it to me.

I laughed. "Let's go, then."

Taking her keys, I locked the door and then dropped them in her purse before taking her arm to lead her to the SUV. A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of Ranger and Steph's house on the edge of Trenton.

We noticed two other SUVs in front, so I knew at least two of the guys were there already. I parked and grabbed the bag from the back seat.

"Ready?" I asked her.

She nodded, so I moved around to her side of the vehicle and helped her out, and then we walked to the door and rang the bell.

"Merry Christmas!" Steph said as she pulled open the door. "Lula, your pajamas are great."

We'd all agreed to come in pajamas or casual clothes. I knew all of us guys would be in sweats and T-shirts, but Steph and Lula both had on pajamas.

"Yours, too, Steph!"

They headed off toward the kitchen, and I walked into the living room to put all the gifts Lula and I had brought under the tree.

I walked in and saw Ranger, Lester, Bobby, and Hal sitting around on the sofas. "Yo," I said, nodding to each of them.

I spread the gifts out and slid the small wrapped box on top of a short stack in the middle. I looked at Ranger , and he gave me a quick nod to let me know he'd seen it. He was going to be the one handing out gifts, so he knew to give that out first. I wasn't sure if I could handle waiting until the end.

Ranger and I left the other guys and headed into the kitchen.

"Steph, why don't you and Lula go hang out with the boys while Ranger and I cook breakfast?"

She gave me a big grin. "That'd be great! Chocolate chip pancakes?"

I laughed and nodded. "Bacon and eggs, too," I assured her.

She smiled, kissed Ranger, and then made her way to the living room with Lula on her heels.

Thirty minutes later, we called the group into the kitchen. Ranger piled a plate high with food and set it in front of Steph.

"I swear, Bomber, I've never seen any woman put away food like you can," Hal said, immediately blushing. "Sorry..." He hadn't meant it as an insult, and I knew Steph wouldn't take it as such.

I was right. She waved it off and grinned before spreading butter over all four pancakes and pouring syrup over them all until it was nearly running over the edge of the plate. She stuffed a big bite into her mouth and moaned. All of us just sat watching her until she looked at us.

"Sorry, guys. Tank, these are _wonderful_!"

"Thanks, Steph. I make them for Lula every Sunday morning that I can."

"It's true, he does," Lula piped up.

Conversation around the entire table picked up then and continued until all of us had polished off every bit of food Ranger and I had cooked.

"Santos, Brown, you're in charge of dishes. Hal, make some coffee and bring it in to us, please. Steph has some peppermint tea in the cabinet beside the coffeemaker," Ranger said, pointing to the counter.

He helped Steph to her feet, and Lula and I followed along behind them as we headed into the living room, leaving the guys to clean up.

"As soon as you're finished, we'll open gifts," he called out after clearing the doorway.

Twenty minutes later, the guys all walked in carrying coffee for everyone, along with a mug of steaming tea for Stephanie. They handed out the cups and got comfortable on the empty chairs.

Ranger sat down on the floor by the tree and said, "Okay, let's see what we have here." He grabbed the small box on top. "To Lula, from Tank."

He handed the box to me, and I passed it to Lula. Steph's eyes lit up, and she hid a smile behind her hand.

Lula tore off the wrapping paper, and before she could open the box, I took it out of her hands and dropped to one knee in front of her. She gasped and her eyes widened.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" She kept chanting it over and over again.

"Lula!" I said sharply. Sometimes, that was the only way to get through her hysteria. "Are you listening?"

She calmed down and clenched her hands together in her lap. Nodding once, she swallowed hard and put her hand in the one I was holding out to her.

"You are a beautiful sight," I told her. "I love you with all my heart, and I can't imagine the rest of my life without you. I know my life is crazy. My job is dangerous sometimes. But I promise I will try my hardest every day to make you happier than you have ever been before. Lula, will you marry me and make me the happiest man alive?"

Steph sniffled beside her as Lula said, "Yes! Yes, yes, yes!"

I pulled the ring out of the box and slid it effortlessly onto the ring finger of her left hand. She squealed and threw her arms around me, and suddenly, we were the only two people in the world. She was kissing me, and I felt all of her love pouring into me through that kiss. I realized then and there that I had never been happier or more at peace than I was in that moment.

What a great Christmas, indeed.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer still applies._

~oooOOOooo~

**Chapter 4  
Stephanie's POV**

The seven of us sat around opening gifts for an hour. When they'd all been opened and all the trash thrown away, Les, Hal, and Bobby got up to refresh our drinks, making more of my favorite peppermint tea for me instead of the coffee everyone else was enjoying.

When they were sitting back in their places, I said, "Okay, everyone, story time!"

I rolled my eyes when everyone but Lula groaned. She and I just looked at each other and laughed. We'd planned this out last week, knowing the stories we heard would be really funny.

"Steph's right," Lula agreed. "We all have to go around and tell about our favorite Christmas or favorite Christmas gift. Who wants to go first?" She looked pointedly at me.

I sighed. "Fine, fine. My idea, I'll go first. Mine is easy." I smiled softly at Ranger. "Our first Christmas together as a couple. We spent it by ourselves. We left you guys in charge at work, told both our families we would be over the day _after_ Christmas, turned off our phones, and locked the door. Then we spent the entire day snuggled on the couch under blankets. We watched movies, had hot chocolate with marshmallows, exchanged gifts, and just spent every minute of the entire twenty-four hours together, alone."

Ranger leaned over, his hand protectively covering my belly, and brushed his lips across mine. "Love you more than I thought possible, Babe," he whispered in my ear.

"Love you, too, Batman," I said softly.

He smiled that smile he reserved just for me and pulled me closer to him in response.

Turning my attention back to the group, I asked "Who's next?"

"I'll go," Lula said when the guys were silent. "Steph, my first Christmas after you saved me, you let me spend it with you. It was the first time in a long time that I felt like I belonged somewhere that day, like I was wanted. That was the best gift I could ever have gotten."

By the time she finished, my over-active hormones had me bawling and sitting on the edge of the couch with my arms open wide. She stood and walked over to me, tears also welling in her eyes, and hugged me as hard as she dared. Bending down, she put both hands on my belly and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the roundness.

"Your momma is something special. You best treat her right when you come out of there, or you'll answer to Auntie Lula."

Standing up straight, she coughed and seemed to re-bury old issues before sliding back onto Tank's lap. "Next!" she called, looking over at Les.

"Okay, okay, I'll go," he said, glaring at Lula. "Let me think a second." A minute or so went by before he looked up to answer. "When I was growing up, we didn't have a lot of money. I was ten years old when my Abuelo Miguel, my grandfather, passed away a few weeks before Christmas. For Christmas that year, my Abuela Lera, my grandmother, gave me his pocket watch and pocket knife as her gifts to me." He pulled them out of the pocket of his sweats. "I never go anywhere without either of them. The watch stopped working years ago, but it's always there as a reminder of family, of where from and how far I've come."

I swear, these pregnancy hormones were killer!

From beside me on the couch, Bobby passed me the box of tissues. "You okay, Bomber?"

I nodded. "Just hormones," I said sadly. They all laughed and smiled at me. "Bobby, you go next."

Bobby smiled and said, "I knew right away what I'd tell. I'd wanted to be an Army medic since I was a little kid. When I was eight years old, Santa brought me an Army outfit and a play medical kid with a toy stethoscope, bandaids, reflex hammer, toy thermometer, and tons of other cool stuff."

We laughed, teasing him.

"What? It was cool, and I was eight!" Glaring at Tank, he said, "Your turn."

"This'll be easy," Tank said, smiling at Lula, who was sitting cross-ways on his lap. "This is by far my favorite Christmas ever. I'll never forget the moment Lula agreed to be my—"

He was cut off by Lula's lips as she threw herself against his chest, her lips covering his in a hard kiss.

Hal coughed softly and said, "I'll go next."

At the sound of his voice, Lula sat back and Tank had a huge smile on his face as they listened.

"I'm the oldest of four kids. When I was twelve, my mom had my youngest sister, Mary, on Christmas Day. My dad always called her Santa's most precious gift. That was my favorite Christmas gift ever."

Lester hurled a pillow at Hal. "What are you? A girl?" He backed off quickly when Lula and I shot him the 'Burg glare, nearly shrinking back into his seat. "Geez, just kidding! Don't hurt me!"

I looked at Lula and winked when she grinned.

"Okay, Ranger," I said, looking up into his beautiful, chocolate-brown eyes. "Your turn!"

He smiled down at me, brushing his lips across my forehead in a tender caress. "I had a lot of great Christmases growing up. Not because we'd get everything we wanted—in fact, far from it—but my parents always tried to give us everything they could, and they went out of their way to make sure the house was decorated and that family and friends came over every year for a big Christmas dinner. Even with those memories, I'd have to say this year is my favorite. Not only is my Babe carrying our children, one of my best friends is now truly with the love of his life"—Lula smiled up at Tank—"and my other best friends are here celebrating this day with us. We're all safe, happy, and surrounded by people who love us. Life couldn't get much better than this. Thank you all for helping make it so special."

We were all silent for a minute, taking in what Ranger had said, until Lester couldn't stand it anymore.

"Okay, enough sap! Who's up for a snowball fight and making snow angels?"

We rolled our eyes, but laughed as we got up and went to bundle up to follow him outside. Lula and I brought out blankets and curled up on the porch swing, watching our men turn back into boys before our eyes, knowing that what Ranger had said was true. This was the best Christmas any of us had ever had.

**The End**


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